Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

This is a piece I wrote last year for the MLK Oratorical Contest at New York University last year. I work to remind people of these words, everyday, not just in January.

In 1955, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. took a stand that greatly impacted his career trajectory, and his legacy. The young Dr. King became the leader of the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a yearlong economic protest of the public transit system. During this time, Dr. King spoke about the importance of the boycott. He addressed a crowd of 5,000 at Holt Street Baptist Church and stated,

“There comes a time, my friends, when people are tired of being plunged across the abyss of humiliation, where they experience the bleakness of nagging despair. There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life’s July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November. There comes a time.”

Tonight, we gather at New York University 61 years into the future, yet Dr. King’s words reek of truth, and a conviction on our society. The “abyss of humiliation” Dr. King spoke of is omnipresent in 2016. Since Dr. King’s remarks, names like Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice, Akai Gurley and too many more, serve as a slap across the face of social justice.

The sting of King’s words have become a pain and grief that we have carried for so long, that we embrace it as we would a friend. Let me be clear and give this grief a name. The nagging despair of American Society is inequity, birthed by Imperialism, raised by white supremacy, and irrevocably bound to racism.

Many are quick to defend the legacy of Dr. King, or the Civil Rights Movement, by uplifting the progress that has been made. Perhaps that is true, perhaps it is not. I am not interested in such debates because, I am of the belief that a 1950’s leader cannot and will not solve the problems we face in 2016.

Can we learn from Dr. King’s words and actions? Can we model our organizing after the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)? Absolutely! However, we must acknowledge that more is needed. There comes a time when we must fall from the limbs of the tree and sprout roots of our own. Our society is different than the society of Dr. King. The systemic problems we face have evolved since the Civil Rights Movement.

Now, I would like to take a minute to discuss systems. The thing about systems is, sometimes they need to be reset, provided a boost, or an override if you will, so they don’t go haywire. All programs and applications must be shut down, so that the system can operate as intended. This can be done several times, but eventually, the operating system becomes antiquated, outdated and inadequate for use.

There comes a time when the operating system must be replaced. There come a time for revolution.

CDF-NY rally to Raise The Age of criminal responsibility (currently 16 for any offense in New York State).

Dr. King too, knew this when he remarked, “The dispossessed of this nation, the poor, both white and Negro, live in a cruelly unjust society. They must organize a revolution against the injustice, not against the lives of their fellow citizens, but against structures through which the society is refusing to lift the load of poverty.”

Revolutions can take many forms, but they almost always are sparked by students, by innovators, by the oppressed. There comes a time when we must move from pupil to crusader. For those like me, who are members of the Class of 2016, the future is now for us. Sure, there are assignments to complete and classes to attend, but in the near future, we will be decried a diploma with the full expectation that we will practice our craft in service to our profession. Doctors, lawyers, business leaders educators and public servants will gather on May 18th.

In the wake of the current student movements, we have a choice. We can tinker at current systems – change drug policies, diversify the student body and restructure Common Core State Standards, effectively resetting the system.

Or, we can dig deeper and demand justice. The American system needs a revolution of consciousness, a revolution of love. Small tinkers and restarts are inadequate. Legalizing marijuana or adding more students and staff of color does not offer what Michelle Alexander, by way of Dr. Cornell West, calls a prophetic fire.

In an address to students at Union Seminary last year, Alexander states, “we desperately need you to bring your prophetic fire, I am asking you, begging you to speak in your own voice, your own truth, and with a fearlessness and a determination that honors your most sacred beliefs and moral commitments. We need you … to speak your truths so that we might all muster the courage to do the same.”

Drug laws that legalize the product without humanizing the user mask the truth. Similarly, adding more student and staff of color without equipping all students and staff with the resources to discuss racial injustice, masks the truth. It appeases the “nagging despair”, but ignores the “abyss of humiliation”.

This, abyss of humiliation is a cancer to justice and equality. If we as students, as citizens, as human beings are not prepared to take our skills, our knowledge and yes … our privilege into battle for a revolution of consciousness, I fear we have wasted a great deal of time, and money, in pursuit of higher education.

For, as Dr. King once said, “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character – that is the goal of true education.”

There comes a time when the only way to free ourselves, is to fight for the freedom of others. There comes a time, when the time, is now.

Rookies Räisänen and Mrázová shine in first half for The Pod The Connecticut are 2-4-2 at the halfway point of the 2018-19 season. Yet again the Whale are in forth place in the NWHL standings. However, there are a few reasons this season could be different than their two fourth place finishes. To begin, there […]

3-3 Beauts look to jump back on top! Yesterday, the Buffalo Beauts announced both Ric Seiling and Craig Muni were relieved of their duties. The co-head coaches led the Beauts to two-consecutive Isobel Cup Finals and the 2017 NWHL Championship title. Skills coach and former NHL Cody McCormick was named interim head coach and general […]

Learn about the Markham Thunder rookie’s adventures in hockey, journalism, and service. Ailish Forfar’s interests have led her, quite literally, around the world. While in college at Ryerson, she went on services trips with other athletes and covered the 2018 Winter Paralympics from South Korea. As a rookie on the Markham Thunder, she’s played hockey […]

Randy Velischek weighs in on state of the Riveters, projected lines, and starting goalie for Sunday “We need a win! We need a win,” said Riveters head coach Randy Velischek to a staff member at practice yesterday. The former New Jersey Devils defenseman is 1–6 with nine games left in his first season as head […]

Ahead of the 2018 Four Nations Cup, read what Szabados thinks about playing on home ice, facing off against the other three teams, and more! Ahead of Four Nations, which starts today, Canadian goaltender Shannon Szabados was gracious enough to answer a few questions about the tournament via email. The current Buffalo Beauts goalie talked […]

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.